October 5: Gumboot Saddle to Boulder Peak - Meet at 8:00 AM
TH: Down I-5 to Exit 738, the Central Mount Shasta exit. Right on Hatchery Lane for 0.3 miles to a left on Old Stage Road for 0.3 miles. Straight on West A. Barr / NF 26 for 17 miles to the TH. EDT: 1:45. Description: Last year we stopped short of Boulder Peak.  However, after reading about it and reviewing the topo we think that we can make it to the summit this year. Head down the PCT to the junction with the Seven Lakes trail. Follow the trail and the old Jeep road up past Helen Lake and then bushwhack across the ridge to Boulder Peak. Lunch on Boulder Peak with views of Shasta, Eddy and Lassen. Return the same way. Distance: 8 miles, Elevation gain: 1,500 feet. Weather forecast. RT mileage: 185 miles.

October 12: Kelsey Creek to Maple Falls (p. 45 in Best Hikes of the Marble and Russian Wilderness Areas) Meet at 8:30 AM. 
TH: Take I-5 to Yreka and follow Highway 3 to Fort Jones. Right on the Scott River Road for 17 miles. Past the Kelsey Guard Station and just before Bridge Flat the road crosses the Scott River. Immediately past the bridge go left on Kelsey Creek Road for 1/2 mile. Do not cross the second bridge but continue straight past the house to the roomy trailhead. EDT 90 minutes. Description: The Kelsey Trail was built by the army in the middle 1800s as a supply line from Crescent City to Ft. Jones. Follow Kelsey Creek to Maple Falls. Distance 9 miles; climbing 2,200'. Weather forecast. RT mileage 150 miles.

October 19: Black Butte (p. 216 in 100 Hikes)
TH: Take the first Mt. Shasta Exit (mile 740). East on Mt. Shasta Blvd. for about 3/4 mile to the first left and then left on Ski Village Drive over to Everitt Memorial Highway. Left on Everitt for 1.6 miles to the Black Butte Trail turn. Go left for 2.6 miles on the gravel road to the 5 way intersection. Left on the best gravel road for 0.6 miles to the parking area. EDT: 90 minutes. Description: switchback your way to the top for spectacular views all the way from the Sacramento Valley to Oregon including Mt. Shasta, Mt. Eddy, Mt. Lassen, Castle Crags, Mt. McLoughlin and the Klamath range. Distance: 5.2 miles RT; 1,925 feet of climbing. Weather Forecast. RT mileage 160 miles.

October 26: Blue Lake Basin (p. 112 in 100 Hikes)
TH: Take DIM to its end point at Highway 140; turn right (east); after 3.1 miles go left on FS 3651 8.2 miles; turn left onto FS 3659 1.2 miles to parking area at TH; EDT: 90 minutes. Description: Hike through Sky Lakes Wilderness Area to Blue Lake; return same way. Distance: 10.6 miles RT; elevation gain: moderate, since this is a gently undulating trail. Weather Forecast. RT mileage: 115 miles.